- Turkish side Galatasaray came back from behind twice to beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford last night
- It is the first time Manchester United have started a Champions League group stage with successive defeats
Turkish side Galatasaray came back from behind twice to beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford last night. Rasmus Hojlund gave the Red Devils the lead twice but Galatasaray equalized through Wilfried Zaha and Kerem Akturkoglu. Mauro Icardi, who missed a penalty, made amends by scoring the winner for the visitors on a breathtaking night.
It is the first time Manchester United have started a Champions League group stage with successive defeats. The Premier League side are bottom of Group A, four points behind their visitors who are second. Bayern Munich, who beat Erik ten Hag’s side two weeks ago, are top of the group with six points.
Rasmus Hojlund scored twice for Manchester United on Tuesday night. Photo/ United In Focus.
Manchester United have now lost two consecutive matches following last weekend’s Premier League home defeat by Crystal Palace. Erik ten Hag is feeling the pressure, with his side having lost five of their past seven games and six out of 10 in all competitions this season.
Speaking after the loss to Galatasaray, ten Hag admitted that his side’s start to the season has not been good enough.
“Our start to the season has not been good enough. Although there are reasons, we will not attempt to hide behind excuses. It is up to us now to turn our fortunes around. What happens next is up to us and nobody else.” BBC Sports quotes Erik ten Hag.
How Galatasaray Beat Manchester United
Manchester United needed to beat Galatasaray last night to make up for their worst start to a league campaign in 34 years. They started the game in a lively manner, with Rasmus Hojlund providing positive signs. The young forward made a brilliant run past Sacha Boey before crossing to Bruno Fernandes who failed to convert.
When the roles were reversed, Hojlund made no mistake as he converted to put the Red Devils in front. It all started by Casemiro’s beautiful pass to Marcus Rashford who squared the ball to Hojlund.
However, the lead lasted barely six minutes as Wilfried Zaha equalized to send the away supporters in raptures. The former Crystal Palace man, who also had a spell at Manchester United, outmuscled Diego Dalot before beating Andre Onana.
Rasmus Hojlund thought he had put his side ahead in the 59th minute but his goal was ruled out for offside. However, nothing could stop him from getting his brace eight minutes later after he sprinted away and delicately dinked the ball past Galatasaray’s goalkeeper.
But the hosts could only hold their advantage for four minutes as Galatasaray responded through Kerem Akturkoglu. Things went from bad to worse for the Red Devils in the 77th minute when a terrible Andre Onana mistake led to Casemiro’s red card.
Galatasaray beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford. Photo/ Eurosport.
Onana conceded possession, which forced Casemiro to make a sliding tackle in the box to stop Dries Mertens from scoring. The Brazilian was shown a second yellow card but Mauro Icardi failed to convert the penalty. However, he redeemed himself a few minutes later by scoring Galatasaray’s third goal of the night.
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